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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Did you notice lately that something was popping up on your favorite Google Search page telling that “we have changed something”. Yes Google has changed its privacy policy.

As per wiki “Privacy policy is a statement or a legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses and manages a customer or client’s data.” While signing up for GMail you would have read, read and accepted the terms and conditions. Google has been introducing something new, now and then and we are excited when new stuffs plunge.Because we are getting more of something for FREE!

But there is no free lunch. Google keeps a track of whatever you search, see, send etc to provide more relevant ads. This post is not going to explain you the new privacy policies because Google itself has designed a elegant page to explain them. I shall explain you as why you need to know about the policies.

Google search doesn’t work the same way for everyone. The search displayed varies depending upon various factors like your location, personal information, previous searches etc. Similarly Google search resultsdiffer the your account logged in and logged out. Youtube shows personalized recommendation based on what you have seen before. Google language preference as are saved form your browser cache.

Gmail shows relevant ads based on the content of the mail you sent/received. Google maps uses your current location show accurate distances on maps. So it is important to know what kind of information is used by Google and why is it done so.

Is there any option to prevent my data being used? Yes Google provides few options to opt out their services